Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano
Former Deputy Governor of Kano State to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje in his first tenure in office, Professor Hafiz Abubakar, has dumped the governor for his arch rival in the faction of All Progressives Congress (APC), Malam Ibrahim Shekarau.
Abubakar was Ganduje’s deputy from 2015 to 2018, but at the build-up to 2019 elections, he dumped the governor to contest for governorship on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) led by former Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Piqued by picking Abba Kabir Yusuf as the PDP candidate by Kwankwaso, Abubakar also dumped the PDP for People’s Redemption Party (PRP) to contest the governorship election.
Again, after losing the candidature to Salihu Sagir Takai in PRP in the 2019 elections, he dumped the party to rejoin Ganduje’s APC in the state.
As the state APC has broken into two factions, led by Ganduje and Shekarau, Abubakar, who earlier did not make his position known, made a surprise appearance at a political function organised by the Shekarau at his Kano residence yesterday.
Speaking in an interview with journalists at the event, Abubakar said it was not a surprise to see him at the gathering because he is aligning himself with truth and the future.
According to him, “The events unfolding in APC in Kano State is unfortunate and had derailed the party into crises that portend a bleak future in 2023.”
He lamented that whenever there is a political function, what the party stakeholders are saying is that “the party belongs to three persons- the governor, his wife and the chairman.
“My position is that I am aligning myself with the truth and future. But the truth is that what is going on in APC is really unfortunate. It is not what we and all his supporters expected. Today, it is public knowledge that the leaders of the state APC go to public functions and tell us that the party belongs to three persons in the state- the governor, his wife and the chairman.
“Sometimes we see it as a laughing matter, but what we see in action unfortunately tells the truth. APC in Kano State has derailed. Therefore, it is part of our duty to save the party, to save ourselves and more importantly to save the people of the state.
“The future of APC is bleak unless drastic actions are taken, changes are made and the mind comes to the truth. The future is bleak; it’s very clear, not in Kano State alone. Even in Nigeria at large, APC has to tell itself the truth. Unless that is done, unfortunately it’s going to be another transitional party.
“There is nothing surprising to see me with Shekarau because we have a very long relationship that predates the emergence of PDP and APP. We had belonged to think-tank group many years back.”
He added: “I think the position Shekarau is leading is the one for the future. Let us come and run the party as it should be. Let people be respected. Let it be inclusive. Let the people’s views be respected and matter. Let there be internal democracy where the voice should count and matter.”
